


The Way Out

by SinfulScales



Series: Emera Shai Drabbles [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Angst, Female Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Mentions of Death, Mild Language, thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-07 21:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14679750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfulScales/pseuds/SinfulScales
Summary: Homesickness is a helluva thing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a random thought I had, and theories bouncing in my head. I need to go back to sleep. There might be more of this summoner in the future, but this is just a one-shot thing.

How long had it been? How long since those thoughts had crept back in, again. Emera was now starting to hate it here. Again. Between seeing the burnt remains of parts of Nifl, and now having seen Gunnthra lying there, burnt, blood oozing out of her mouth from the brutal murder by Surtr’s hand. The image had been seared into her memory, which left her with horrendous nightmares. And now, without any of them even noticing, Loki was disguised as Ylgr, and traveling with them to try and take down her master.

 

If she could have something to drink, she would have given herself alcohol poisoning a _very_ long time ago.

 

But she couldn’t. They all relied on her, for her guidance, for her tactics, and her use of this damn gun, Breidablik, which was now in a block of goddamn _ice._ Sure, the ice didn’t freeze her hands, but damnit, how was she supposed to use it now?

 

“Whatever.” Emera said aloud, thankful that she could talk to herself in the ruins of the temple, while the Order was asleep. She pulled out her phone, a miracle it still had a full charge, considering when she was brought to this world, it had been on the charger. While she was asleep. Emera gave a dry laugh at the thought; that it was all one super vivid nightmare, that she could wake up from eventually.

 

…Eventually.

 

She flipped through her photos, a few of them recent, mainly of Lissa sneaking it out and trying to use the thing. Pictures of Chrom, Lissa herself, and sneak photobombing the Order.

 

But she went further back. To last year, to before she went “through the mirror,” as she wanted to call it.

She saw the pictures of her, her best friends, her brother, her cousin. Simpler times…Easier times. And then Emera saw it. The photo of her and her best friend at a gala. Dressed to the nines, with jewelry on their arms, and foreheads. Ready to take on the world — the modeling world— by storm. Only to be cut short.

 

Did Nisha miss her? Emera—no, Shai— wondered quietly. She’d been here so long, she almost forgot her real name. No. She couldn’t forget. She didn’t _want_ to forget. Every day, she wished it was still a dream, and that she would wake up. Only to come to the chilling realization that it wasn’t. No, colorful landscapes had given way to war, and nightmares of that same murder, over and over, and over and over…

 

But then…a thought came to her. What if… What if the key to getting out…was in her hand the whole time?

 

Shai went to her home screen on her phone, observing that the app to the _game..._ Fire Emblem Heroes…was missing. She glanced around at the Order, all of them asleep, except for “Ylgr”, who was mysteriously absent, to be expected. Shai hated that annoying cunt, Loki, anyway.

 

Maybe this was her chance. Her chance to get away from this madness, and get back to her normal life. To be on the other side of the glass. The game. She could stop playing it, and be free, once again. All she had to do was turn off her phone. Easy. Simple.

 

No. What was holding her back? She couldn’t tell, but it was there. A dreaded swelling of uneasiness rose up in her. Shai was panicking. They needed her. Didn’t they? She brought them the summons, helped them through the Grand Hero battles, and broken contracts with Embla to re-assign them to Askr. But, she could do that before she was brought here. Before she was on the other side of the mirror. The Looking Glass to Askr.

 

She needed to wake up. Like it should be.

 

“Like it should be…”

 

Shai pressed, and held down on the lock button. The text came up. “Slide to power off.”

 

She paused, her heart beating quickly. She had to. But they needed her. She _had_ to.

 

But _they_ needed _her._

 

_She needed to. She needed to wake up._

 

“Wake up, Shai. Wake up!” she said quietly, gritting her teeth. "Get through the mirror!"

 

She slid the power icon to the right.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, alright. May as well bookend this.

It was Alfonse that had noticed the cloak of their summoner on the ground after they had all woken up.

 

Most of the Order had sent out search parties throughout the ruins to find Emera. Where had she gone? But none of them saw footprints leading out through the snow.

 

The Askr royals had looked at the cloak once again as Alfonse broke down weeping.

 

She was gone. Emera…their summoner and tactician…was gone. Disappeared.

 

The words he told her swirled around in his head, and he remembered how she avoided eye contact with him when he tried to make her promise to not leave them without warning him first. He should've thought harder about that moment.

 

She never did make that promise.

 

* * *

 

"Shai?"

 

Bleary eyes woke up to the sight of her roommate and best friend, Nisha looking down at her with worry. "N-Nisha?"

 

"Oh phew! Was wondering if you were ever gonna wake up. You'd been conked out for like...most of the day."

 

"The...day?" Shai blinked. She'd been  _asleep_  this whole time? It felt like months had passed!

 

"Yeah! Conked out, dead to the world. You were up late as hell. Could even hear you playing that gacha game... Fire Emblem, right?"

 

"...Right." Shai hesitated, looking down at her phone, the screen dark. That whole time...had been most of the day? It didn't feel right. None of this felt right. Gunnthra....she...didn't remember how she died...did she even really see it? Was it her subconscious that made her think it?

"What's wrong? You look like you'd seen a ghost or something."

"N-nightmare. That's all."

"Oh." Nisha blinked at her friend, feeling like there was more to it, but she didn't press on it. "Hey, I ordered in for dinner. Got that chicken sandwich you were craving to try, and cheesecake. So...yeah. And hey." Shai looked up at her friend, who pulled her in close for a hug. It stunned her at first, but the warmth of the move, figurative and literal, made her smile. "You're gonna be okay. It was just a dream. That's all."

 

"Yeah..." Shai said softly as she hugged Nisha back. "Just a dream."

 

"Now c'mon, let's go eat." Nisha smiled back before leaving the room. Shai waited for a bit before waking her phone from sleep, and felt a chill as she saw the icon of the app on her home screen. No. Not that...thing. That game.

She long-pressed on it..and pressed the "x" next to it.

"A nightmare remains a nightmare.", and then deleted the game.

 


End file.
